Suspects sought in recent robberies

Saturday

May 31, 2014 at 2:31 PMMay 31, 2014 at 2:31 PM

By Jim.Hayden@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4274

A Holland woman was robbed Friday night while making a night deposit at a local bank, the third such incident in about a month. The robbery also comes after a southside gas station was robbed on Thursday.The 21-year-old woman, a clerk at a local gas station, was making a deposit at Macatawa Bank, 699 E. 16th St., about 11 p.m. Friday when a male wearing a bandana over his face approached and grabbed the money bag out of he deposit box. He fled on foot.Holland Department of Public Safety officers immediately set up a perimeter and an Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office canine unit followed the suspect’s tracks to a nearby apartment complex where the scent was lost.The suspect is a black male about 6 feet tall wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and tan pants as well as the bandana, police said.No weapon was seen or implied and the victim was not injured.Video from the bank shows a second male, heavy-set in a dark-color T-shirt, arriving at the same time as the suspect. Police believe he could be an accomplice.The incident remains under investigation.Anyone with information should contact the Holland Department of Public Safety at (616) 355-1100, detectives at (616) 355-1150, email investigators at policetips@cityofholland.com, call Silent Observer at (877) 887-4536 or visit the Silent Observer website at mosotips.com.A similar incident occurred May 20 when a woman was making a deposit about 11:50 p.m. at the Macatawa Bank night box, 20 E. Lakewood Blvd. The suspect got the deposit after a short struggle. The victim received minor injuries.That suspect was described by police as a black male, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall, thin build, wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt and orange bandanna over his face.The incident is similar to another on April 12 at the same bank. The victim did manage to drop the money into the deposit box and the suspect got no money.Anyone with information on those incidents should contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office at (616) 738-4000 or Silent Observer at (877) 887-4536 or visit the Silent Observer website at mosotips.com.Holland police are also looking for a man who robbed the Family Fare gas station at 1149 S. Washington about 11 p.m. Thursday.That suspect is a Hispanic male about 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches, of thinner to average building, according to the Holland Department of Public Safety. He was wearing tan shorts, white tennis shoes and a dark-color, hooded sweatshirt with a checker-board or plaid pattern.— Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.

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